Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 10753080)

yes, we don't know if a bond fund was the right move


we do know that this bond fund was a wrong move

most people should never worry about timing the market (if you do try to time the market do it with OPM and charge well - and do not base the charge on your performance...)

Originally Posted by Sooner or later (Post 10753068)

You are showing a stock chart and the investment was in a tax free muni. We don't know what he was looking for. He might have wanted income. He might have used it for his bond part of the portfolio and he had 95% already in stocks. We don't know his age or current income. We don't know his risk tolerance. Too many unanswered questions to determine if a bond fund was the right move. I don't like the choice due to expenses and his timing might not have been the best. On the other hand he might have sold off a bunch of stock at a large profit prior to the crash and put it into a bond fund to limit risk.

Originally Posted by GG Allin (Post 10752518)

I've got a very diverse mix of mutual funds that gained 24.85% from 01-01-19 to 12-31-19

I suspect everyone else had similar returns.

You would have had to try very hard to lose money last year.

Originally Posted by jyl (Post 10753398)

Those are muni bond funds. Most of you are comparing their performance to equity (stock) funds. Apples and oranges.

Not clear that they actually declined in value last year. They have declined in value since they were purchased.

The management fees are too high, for a bond fund.

He could sell these funds, realize a tax loss to offset some other taxable income (consult accountant) and replace with a different muni bond fund(s) if that is the asset class he wants to own. Or with something else.

Originally Posted by Baz (Post 10752492)

I have a friend who's mutual fund account went from $100,022.50 to $87,270.38 in 2019.

A loss of $12,752.12.

From the statement looks like stocks are grouped into three categories - all Invesco Oppenheimer Rochester acquired in 2008.

I'm not very well versed in the stock market other than what I hear in the news in general terms.

Seems like my friend's account should be increasing given the positive direction of the market.

I did go back to these two threads:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1020645-financial-advisor.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1041465-learning-invest.html

....but also wanted to drill down on this specific situation for input from the brain trust here.

Thanks!